Happy April Fool's Day! Scientists have a sense of humor too

The American Chemical Society brings the world a little humor on April Fool's Day.

The American Chemical Society brings the world a little humor on April Fool's Day.

Karen Kaplan

Happy April Fool’s Day! Why not celebrate with a little humor from the world of science?

No, that's not an April Fool’s joke. It really IS possible to blend humor with science and math. The American Chemical Society proves it in the video above.

You may find some of the jokes funnier than others. One of my favorites: “Never trust an atom – they make up everything.”

There’s another gem about two glasses of water concerned about the too-cool-for-school behavior of their ice-cube son. The punch line requires a junior-high understanding of chemistry.

If math is more your thing, there’s this classic set-up:

A man walks into a bar and asks for 10 times more drinks than anyone else. The barman says, “Now THAT is an order of magnitude!”

STAP cells

Haruko Obokata

Researchers in Hong Kong say they have partially recreated the results of a controversial STAP cell study. The image shows a mouse fetus used in the original study, which Japanese research authorities say was tainted by misconduct.

Researchers in Hong Kong say they have partially recreated the results of a controversial STAP cell study. The image shows a mouse fetus used in the original study, which Japanese research authorities say was tainted by misconduct. (Haruko Obokata)

Don’t get it? Don’t despair. You can watch Matt Parker explain the joke (and others) in this video from our friends at Numberphile. (Parker, you may recall, was the guy arguing in favor of pi and against tau in a debate we highlighted recently on Pi Day.)

And for you physics buffs out there, why not watch none other than Richard Feynman deliver a stand-up routine on ESP, UFOs and astrology (disguised as a lecture on the scientific method). The video is a collection of highlights from the Messenger Lectures he gave at Cornell University in 1964.

Chemistry jokes for April Fool's Day

The American Chemical Society brings the world a little humor on April Fool's Day.

The American Chemical Society brings the world a little humor on April Fool's Day.